Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the single leading cause of death in America, where approximately one in five deaths is caused by CHD. CHD causes heart attacks and angina. The most recent available statistics report that over 1.25 million heart attacks occur each year in the United States. A heart attack (myocardial infarction) occurs when the blood supply to part of the myocardium is severely reduced or stopped due to blockage of one or more of the coronary arteries. Heart cells suffer permanent damage or die if the blood supply is cut off for more than a few minutes resulting in damage to the heart muscle (myocardium).
Following myocardial infarction the resulting ischemic damage to the myocardium may lead to a chronic, degenerative spiral of myocardial remodeling that may compromise the ability of the ventricles to provide adequate coronary output. While the process of myocardial remodeling is complex and multifactorial, mechanical strain on the myocardial structure is recognized to contribute to the remodeling process. Relieving this strain would provide means of interrupting the degenerative process.
One approach to relieve the strain has been to reshape or reduce the heart structure by placing bands, cuffs, a jacket or a sock around the exterior of the heart to provide external stress relief to the heart and to reduce the tendency of the myocardium to distend or become permanently stretched and damaged. One drawback to these devices is that each require surgical placement. Another drawback is that these devices, once placed, cover healthy, undamaged tissue and effect change to the entire heart, not just the damaged portion which may lead to valvular dysfunction.
It would be desirable, therefore, to provide a device and a delivery system to relieve the strain through structural reinforcement of the ventricular wall and a method of using the device that would overcome these and other disadvantages.